Bill
H 4434
Charlemont would create a local recall process allowing registered voters to remove elected town officials before their terms end.
Note on numbering: The materials provided include two distinct items using the designation “H 4434” in different jurisdictions. One is a Massachusetts local act (filed Aug 11 / introduced Aug 21, 2025) that would authorize recall elections in the town of Charlemont. The other is a South Carolina House resolution (filed and adopted Apr 30, 2025) expressing sympathy on the death of Louis Weldon Hammond. The summaries below treat each item separately.
Status & key dates
- Filed: House Docket No. 5028 (filed Aug 11, 2025); introduced in House Aug 21, 2025 by Reps. Natalie M. Blais and Paul W. Mark.
- Referred to: Committee on Election Laws (8/21/2025).
- Senate concurred: 8/25/2025.
- Hearing scheduled: 11/13/2025 (A‑2).
Purpose
- To authorize a local recall procedure allowing registered voters of Charlemont to remove elected town officers before the end of their terms.
Key provisions
- Who may be recalled: Any person holding an elected Charlemont office who has more than six months remaining in the term on the date a recall affidavit is filed (Section 1).
- Initiation: A recall begins when 50 or more Charlemont voters file an affidavit naming the officer and stating grounds for removal (Section 2).
- Petition circulation and signature threshold:
- Town clerk certifies affidavit and issues petition blanks.
- Petitions must be returned within 14 days and contain signatures of at least 20% of registered voters (based on the most recent town election registration list) (Section 2).
- Registrars must certify signatures within 5 days after clerk submits petitions.
- Election timing: If certified, the select board notifies the officer; if the officer does not resign within 5 days, the select board must order a recall election to be held not less than 64 and not more than 90 days after certification. The select board may postpone to coincide with another town election occurring within 100 days (Section 3).
- Ballot and voting rules:
- Ballot must present the recall question (FOR/AGAINST) followed by a list of candidates (alphabetical by surname).
- If a majority vote “FOR” recall, the candidate receiving the highest number of votes is elected to serve the remainder of the term (Section 6).
- If “FOR” does not obtain a majority, candidate votes need not be counted unless the incumbent resigned under Section 3.
- Candidate and officeholder restrictions:
- Incumbent may not run to succeed themselves in the recall election (Section 4).
- No recall petition may be filed within six months of assuming office; if an officer survives a recall, no new recall petition may be filed against them for six months after that election (Section 7).
- Anyone recalled or who resigned while recall proceedings were pending may not be appointed to any town office for 12 months after the recall/resignation (Section 8).
- Administrative details:
- Incumbent remains in office until successor qualifies; if successor fails to qualify within 5 days after notification, the incumbent is removed and the office remains vacant unless otherwise filled under general law (Section 5).
- Effective: upon passage (Section 9).
Who is affected
- Registered voters and elected local officers of the town of Charlemont; town clerk, registrars of voters, and the select board for administration.
Potential impact
- Establishes a clear, time‑limited process enabling direct voter removal of local officials in Charlemont, with defined signature thresholds, timelines, and ballot procedures. It creates new administrative duties for local officials and imposes restrictions on reappointment and repeat recall attempts.
Status & key dates
- Introduced and adopted by the South Carolina House of Representatives on April 30, 2025.
Purpose & content
- A formal resolution expressing the House’s sorrow at the passing of Louis Weldon Hammond (d. April 11, 2025) and extending condolences to his family and friends.
- The text summarizes Hammond’s biography: birth (Jan 5, 1939), education (Morehouse College; law study; Tennessee State University), military service (U.S. Army; Army Reserve), career in the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (over 37 years), community and civic leadership (founding member of Blacks United for Action; member of 100 Black Men), church service (First Calvary Baptist Church), and honors (including the Order of the Silver Crescent).
- The resolution directs that a copy be presented to the family.
Who is affected
- No legal or policy effects; it is a ceremonial expression of legislative condolences.
If you want, I can:
- Produce a one‑page fact sheet focused only on the Charlemont recall law for local officials and voters.
- Draft a plain‑language explainer of how the recall petition/threshold and election timing would work in practice.
Compiled from official sources — confirm details with the bill’s official record.
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